Fauja Singh is 100 years old.
That’s no typo. A guy who turned 100 on April 1 — no fooling — just ran, and finished, a 26.2 mile race. It took him more than eight hours, or about six hours more than Kenneth Munjara of Kenya, who won the event for the fourth year in a row.
“Beating his original prediction, he’s overjoyed,” Harmander Singh, Fauja’s coach and translator, told the associated press. “Earlier, just before we came around the [last] corner, he said, ‘Achieving this will be like getting married again.’
“He’s absolutely overjoyed. He’s achieved his lifelong wish.”
Fauja Singh stands 5 feet, 8 inchesand weighs 116 pounds. He wears a long, flowing white beard, and always wears a turban when he runs. Toronto marked his ninth completed marathon, but he’s still a newcomer to marathoning. He completed his first at the age of 89.
And he is slowing down as he ages. In the 2003 Toronto race, at the youthful age of 92, he set a marathon record for the 90-plus age group category with a time of 5 hours, 40 minutes, 1 second.
That result prompted an Adidas billboard campaign in London, where Fauja has lived since 1992. Beside his photo were the words, “6:54 at age 89; 5:40 at age 92. The Kenyans had better watch out for him when he hits 100.”
After completing last week’s milestone run, and his first marathon since 2004, Fauja’s coach told the BBC, “He certainly enjoyed the run; the records are a bonus. He lost his wife and one of his sons due to tragic circumstances, and that’s what made him depressed, and he overcame that by rekindling his passion for running.”
When he moved to London from his village in Jalandhar, in Punjab, India, he had trouble adapting to the British lifestyle. “Sitting at home was really killing,” he told The Sikh Times in 2004. “Most elderly people in Britain eat a rich diet, don’t move about, and only travel in cars, and that makes them sick.
“I never thought of running a marathon then. But slowly it grew.”
Part of Fauja’s secret is his diet. He doesn’t drink or smoke, of course. “I am very careful about different foods. My diet is simple phulka [light, unleavened bread], dal [lentils, peas or beans], green vegetables, yogurt, and milk. I do not touch parathas [pan-fried flat bread], pakoras [fried fritters], rice, or any fried food. I take lots of water, and tea with ginger.”
He adds a positive attitude to his diet and exercise. “I go to bed early taking the name of Rabb [God], as I don’t want all those negative thoughts crossing my mind.”
How does he block out negative thoughts during a marathon? “The first 20 miles are not difficult. As for the last six miles, I run while talking to Rabb.”
And he has another inspiration to keep him going through a marathon. As he told the BBC after finishing the Toronto race, “I run for charities. I feel that the blessings of the beneficiaries of the charities give me the strength to continue.”
“In the Punjabi language,” Fauja told The A.P., “there is no such word as impossible.”
So consider this. According to his coach, Fauja underwent bone density tests a year ago. His left leg had the bone density of a 35-year-old. His right leg, that of a 25-year-old. Remarked Fauja, “I knew my left leg was weak!”
Fauja also provided advice for all seniors. “The first thing is to get rid of this notion that you’re old. The other thing is, some people die of starvation in some parts of the world, but in western countries, people die of overeating. And they don’t do enough exercise to burn it off. You eat to live, not live to eat.”
Facts of Baba Fauja Singh:
Born: 1st April 1911 in Punjab
Former Occupation: Farmer
Marathons: London (5), Toronto (1), New York (1)
Marathon Debut: London , 2000 aged 89
London Marathon Personal Best: 6h 2m
London Flora Marathon 2000 6 Hours 54 m
London Flora Marathon 2001 6 Hours 54 m
London Flora Marathon 200 2 6 Hours 45 m
Bupa Great North Run (Half Marathon ) 2002 2h 39m
London Flora Marathon 2003 6h 2m
Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2003 5h 40m
New York City Marathon 2003 7h 35m
London Flora Marathon 2004 6h 7m
Glasgow City Half Marathon 2004 2h 33m
Capital Radio Help a London Child 10,000m 2004 68m
Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon 2004 2h 29m 59s
Extract from online article by American Sports Columnist, Denton Ashway of FursythNews
